Happy Hallowe’en, all!

1. Halloween cookie, 2. Jack o Lanterns, 3. Pumpkin Family, 4. Halloween Cupcake: II, 5. Fall Holiday, 6. Sea of Pumpkins, 7. Jack-o-lanterns, 8. Lil Witch, 9. halloween cups

Traditioooooooon! (da diddle a da, day diddle ah dum dah) Tradition!*

Found through domesticali, I have signed up for the Holiday Tradition Exchange organized by Meg at Montessori by Hand. Well, how could I resist after reading Meg’s wonderful post about the origin of the swap and her own memories of Christmases past? Her words capture far more effortlessly and fully anything I could hope to write about the reasons that Christmas is so special to me.  I hope you will join me!

*Name that musical, peeps!

We’re back!

 

More pictures of our trip can be found here.

A guid wee break

We’re off to Scotland tomorrow for some very needed R’n'R, so I will be back next Sunday. Have a great week all!

O is for Organisation

I own up quite freely to being somewhat organisationally challenged the majority of the time. I do love making lists, and have several notebooks that serve solely that function. Guest lists, present lists, task lists, the list (ba-boom) is endless. However, I also hold my hand up to being a world class procrastinator.

Of course, the inevitable result of this disorganisation and procrastination cycle is that I have fairly frequent panic attacks, whereby I become so overwhelmed with the seemingly endless tasks I have to do, and now in a shorter period of time than might be necessary to achieve everything, that I sit petrified (in both the geological and emotional sense) while my mind whirls and my heart quickens.  The only cure is, of course, a brief flurry of activity to make some headway on the list before my habitual ennui sets in and the cycle begins again.

One such catharsis occured this past weekend, as I sat at my desk freaking out over all the work-, wedding- and holiday-related tasks I have let build up.  Wedding-wise, much happened in these past few days: The Dress has been purchased; deposits paid to photographers, marquee erectors (snigger, snigger), and musicians; caterer and florist consulted; hair appointments booked; and stationary ordered.  Now I just have to clothe the bridesmaids and the groom, order the cake, send the invitations, contact the organist, find a make-up artist, get the dress taken up,find shoes, find jewellery…

Hello. My name is esmerelda…

…and I’m a Noroholic.

At first it was just for kicks. You know, a little Kureyon for a Calorimetry. But then, I saw this and it went to a whole different level. I craved the subtle changes from colour to colour, the softness and warmth of the yarn through my fingers, the glow emitted as the light caught the rich jewel tones of the scarf. So, I contacted my dealer and the begging and pleading that followed…well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.

But it wasn’t a quick enough fix. I needed a finished object and I needed it now. I wanted to see the graduation of colour in all its glory now, dammit, and not have to wait until I had finished 60 blimmin’ inches of scarf.  My addiction was waning, I had nearly kicked the habit.

Then I met this enabler. How could I ever kick this habit when sneaky knitters will push on me the one substance that I am trying to give up.  I resisted, dear reader, dammit I tried.  But it called to me.  And when it came time to think of quick and easy Christmas presents, my fragile willpower caved.  But even then, I could not stop at one.  To my shame, I frogged the ill-fated scarf. I ripped out its perfect little stitches in search of more instant highs.  I am working on the fourth now, and I don’t think I can stop.  Send help.  I am drowning in a sea of Silk Garden Beanies.

Easy-Peasy Noro Beanie (modified from this pattern):

CO 88 st on 4.5mm 16″ circular

R1 – 10: *K1, P1* to end

R11 – 39: K around

R40: *K11, pm* around

R41: *K to 2 before marker, K2tog, slip m* around

R42: K around

Repeat last two rows until you have 8 st left, pull working yarn through remaining st, weave in ends.  Wear with impunity.

P.S. I have another ball of this stuff somewhere.  Don’t judge me, for I am weak.

Sorry, girls, I just have to -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/english/7041317.stm

Hee hee! 

Knitting content, wedding shenanigans and more about me (‘cos I know you’re fascinated) coming up over the next week.  Stay tuned!

Feeling smug (for now)

A great weekend for me, including knitting, rugby and housework success (hey, any housework achieved deserves a frackin’ parade, as far as I am concerned). With the E-P Scarf, this Noro Beanie and now a Red Light Special finished, I am starting to think that this holiday gifting lark is going to be fairly e-p in itself.

Pattern: Modified Silk Garden Beanie (I Co’d 88 st on 4.5 mm, did 1×1 ribbing, knit until it felt long enough [5.5 inches seems very short to me], then decreased 11 times around, reducing the number of rows in between decrease rows from three to none every third decrease).

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden in shade 224

Yarn Source: The lovely Clare

Needles: Pony 4.5mm circulars

Thoughts: Yes, well clearly it is slightly small for Mr. T. But, boy oh boy, is this ever a quick knit. And fun too, as all the colour changes magically appear. This, although modelled by the ever-handsome and rugged T, is destined for my male cousin’s wife, S. Although, I must say that T looks rather dashing in rose, chartreuse, navy and lilac! Poor man, added to the humiliation of losing to Les Bleus, his soon-to-be wife forces him to act as a mannequin for her creations (sorry, had to get a dig in there somewhere!)

Pattern: Red Light Special by b r o o k l y n t w e e d

Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Sportweight in shades 46, 90, 63 and 42 (I think, based on online colour comparison)

Yarn Source: The Yarn Tree, Brooklyn

Needles: Addi Turbo 3.5mm for the lining (best invention ever) and Pony 4.5mm for the stranding.

Thoughts: If the Noro Beanie fails slightly on length, the RLS more than compensates in both length and breadth! It is wearable, but it does give the wearer a slightly comic air, swamped as they are by a cloud of greeny-blue alpaca. I am hoping that a brief spell in the tumble drier will sort this out. The pattern itself provides an extremely satisfying knit, and a quick one at that – taking things one row at a time, bizarrely, makes the process seem much faster. Must be the magic of fair isle (see ‘At Knit’s End’ for reference)!

Mist and mellow fruitfullness

1. Blackberry delight, 2. Untitled, 3. Hemlock Ring Bowl, 4. Nature paintwork, 5. spalshdown, 6. It’s fall, 7. Fall Holiday, 8. petit chemin d’automne, 9. I’ve got sunshine…..

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Mitten Swap Questionnaire

Y’know, because it’s not as though I haven’t got enough on my plate.  Sign-ups continue until October 14.

1. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? I have been knitting for about one and a half years.  For the story of how I learnt, see here.
2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I would say intermediate, primarly because I never took the route of ‘Beginner’s should make a pot-holder, then a scarf’.  I kind of just jump into things as they take my fancy.
3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike? My favourite colours are very natural, but bright – so I like emerald green (of course!), teal, amethyst, pumpkin orange, cobalt blue, turquoise, daffodil yellow, white, ivory and cream, and of course browns and greys.  I am very particular about pastels, so it might be best to steer clear of those, and I would never wear neons.
4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns? I do like Latvian patterns, but I don’t think I have any favourites at the moment.
5. Do you desire mittens for yourself, your “special someone else” or your child? At the moment, the majority my knitting is going to other people, so I would love something for me!
6. What other things do you enjoy knitting? Socks!  And also hats, lovely quick things.  I am just about done with my first sweater, but that was done in bulky weight, so it too was pretty quick!
7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum) I discovered Magic Loop about two months ago, and it is my favourite way to knit socks.  I prefer aluminium needles, as I find bamboo too slow (and I am already plenty slow!)  My favourite needles are my Addi Turbos – love, love, love!
8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make? A lace shawl – I have bought so many patterns and yarn, but I just cannot justify the time to myself at the moment.  One day, though!
9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with? I would love to try some STR from Blue Moon – I know Americans rave over this stuff.  From Europe, Wollemeise sock yarn would be my top pick.
10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook? I do a little embroidery and cross stitch.  I am trying to get up the courage to start sewing together my first quilt.  I love to cook, especially to bake, so if you wanted to throw in some cute cupcake papers or cookie cutters… wink, wink!
11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything? Books, and carved turtles!
12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?  I like all food, except raw broccolli and raw mushrooms!  Interestingly, one of my favourite snacks is chocolate covered pretzels, so salty and sweet!  I’m allergic to amoxycillin, so unless you have some of that lying around the kitchen, I’m all good!
13. Do you have any kids? Pets?  No + no
14. What is your favorite part of Winter?  Snow (outside) + gluhwein (inside)
15. What is your least favorite part of Winter? The freezing, numbing rain we get in the UK that makes my fingers ache.